‘Associations affiliated to COA without committee approval’

Deepankar Sharda

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 13

The Technical Committee Chairman, Chandigarh Olympic Association (COA), alleged that the Secretary, COA, affiliated some sports associations without referring them to the affiliation/de-affiliation committee.

Rajpal Chauhan, Chairman, Technical Committee, had written to Amrinder Singh Bazaz, president, COA, last month. The matter is significant as the associations affiliated to the COA possess the right to vote for choosing the next governing body. Over the time, allegations have been levelled against COA officials for giving affiliation to “bogus” associations.

The COA is schedule to meet and elect the new House on January 27.

Chauhan had written to Bazaz: “I was appointed as the Technical Committee head and was given the additional charge of affiliating and de-affiliating committees on November 1, 2017. In the annual general meeting of the COA held on December 4, 2020, I was shocked to know that the Honorary General Secretary, COA, gave affiliation to some state associations without consulting the committee concerned. No such powers were conferred on the official as per the COA rules. Information regarding this should be handed over to the committee to take an appropriate action or your good self may take an action in the interest of the COA.”

“The matter of affiliation should have been brought to the notice of the designated committee. The general House had decided the same,” said Chauhan. On action report submitted to the House, Chauhan said: “No one approached the committee, otherwise we would have submitted a report.”

Recently, the COA distributed Rs10,000 each among associations, out of which a few never conducted any championships. Some associations did not even bother to conduct state championships in the past few years, but were given the grant to distribute it further to their registered players. The COA is already in the dock for not conducting any championship from the past 13 years.

Sources said even in next House meetings, office-bearers might use every way to pass on the COA’s baton either to their loyal counterparts or family members.

The sources said Indian Olympic Association (IOA) Chief Narinder Dhruv Batra has also written a letter to the COA to stop the practice of affiliating associations that are not affiliated either to the IOA or the Ministry of the Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS).